99 & up 7.3L Power Stroke Engine and DrivetrainDiscussion of the 99 & up 7.3L Power Stroke diesel engine and drivetrain in the 1999-Up Super Duty trucks and Excursions. No gas engine discussion allowed except on transmissions and drivetrain that pertain to all models. Please confine discussion of topics in this forum to those items that are specific to the 7.3L Power Stroke engine.
After owning both types here is my opinion.
Manual Pros: great power on hills, ability to downshift for climbs/descends easier, Obviously better control of power in a sense of gearing, a lot easier to pull tranny by yourself(lighter&smaller), burnouts are easier.
Manual Cons: Owe my aching left leg, city driving is painful, 2nd to 3rd gearing is too far apart, and shifting in a truck is not fun like my M3.
Auto Pros: No aching left leg, city driving is nice, Multi tasking driving is easier.
Auto Cons: Always have to watch tranny temp, climbs/descends sucks.
Not much, I know. But if I was to own a 4th, Its going to be a MonsterBoxOrBTS auto, with dp-tuner power. Thats my opinion.
"My trucks all tow heavy trailers from empty 4k to fully loaded 24k, some of you might think I'm nuts pulling that heavy, and thats ok." I haul stuff for a living so my truck always gets 1st class treatment.
02 F350 PSD CREW LB WITH TRAINING WHEELS-AUTOMATTY-dual 80k transcooler, trans filter, coolant filter, amsoil oil filter sys., air dog filter sys., afe stg. 2 intake filter, HPX crossover, 4" mbrp exhaust, 6.0 intercooler, Garrett GT38R BB, EBV delete, dual optima, ohcrap gauges, no potatoe Chip yet.
210,000 miles on original engine and trans and many more to come.--TOTALED BY ELK
03 F350 PSD CREW LB WITH TRAINING WHEELS-MANNY TRANNY- Con-O clutch, Transcooler, Kevlar BrakeLines, CryoRotors F&R, ss Vacuum lines, 2.5 lift, RearSus Airbags w/remote, Garrett GT38R BB, 6.0 Intercooler, HPX crossover, dual optimas, AFE S2, ss MBRP 4", EBV delete, AIH delete, AirDog FS, ITP Reg.Fuel.Ret., Coolant Filter, A whole mess of gauges, and no chip (yet).
Any idiot can tow heavy with an automagic tranny. With a 7.3L engine and automagic, the only caveat is to install an aftermarket tranny temp gauge and never allow more than 225º tranny temp. (The stock tranny temp gauge in 2002-up 7.3Ls is useless.) If yours gets up over 210º too easily, then you need to increase tranny cooling capacity. Replacing the stock oil-to-air tranny cooler with one from a 6.0L will probably do the trick.
Towing heavy with a manual tranny requires a lot more skill. Lugging the engine is a no no, so you have to understand what is lugging and don't go there. Driving right up to the edge of lugging before you downshift requires an excellent "seat of the pants" feel so you'll know when to downshift without lugging the engine, but without downshifting too early which hurts fuel mileage.
But most folks that have experience with a manual tranny and know when to downshift without lugging the engine usually prefer the increased driver control of the manual tranny.
I'm one of those that prefers a manual, but Darling Wife has to be able to drive the pickup too, and she has too much arthritis in her knees to still be able to drive a stick. So I "make do" with a tranny temp gauge, bigger tranny cooler, and a BTS rebuild of my automagic tranny.
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My Sierra Blanca in the sig pic was a great pickup for 11.5 years. I sold it last year. Replacement is a 2012 F-150 EcoBoost SuperCrew Lariat.
Last edited by SmokeyWren; 01-23-2009 at 10:14 AM.
Reason: typo
Manual all the way for me. Never owned anything but in any vehicle that I have or ever had. I like the control that I have with the manual and it's much simpler to maintain and they are virtually bulletproof. Plus the fuel mileage is better and saves on the brakes.
I never cared for a stick when I had one in a car. Couldn't wait to get rid of it. Of course, because I don't autocross with it, it isn't worth much to me. On the quarter mile, the auto can't be beat for consistency.
I don't know why people think they have to constantly watch the gauge any more then they have to watch the speedo. I don't always look at my temp gauge.
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01 Excursion 7.3L Powerstroke. Gauges with AIH Delete, AIS, CCV Mod, 4' MBRP, BTS Trans, 6.0L Trans Cooler and Intercooler, DP-Tuner F5 chip, ITP In Tank Mod and Boost Annihilator, Diesel Innovation's Regulated Fuel kit, BTS Big Oil system, GTP38R Turbo with 1.15 A/R housing and BPD Stage II AC injectors. Bilstein Shocks with U code front and A code Rear.
After owning both types here is my opinion.
Manual Pros: great power on hills, ability to downshift for climbs/descends easier, Obviously better control of power in a sense of gearing, a lot easier to pull tranny by yourself(lighter&smaller), burnouts are easier.
Manual Cons: Owe my aching left leg, city driving is painful, 2nd to 3rd gearing is too far apart, and shifting in a truck is not fun like my M3.
Auto Pros: No aching left leg, city driving is nice, Multi tasking driving is easier.
Auto Cons: Always have to watch tranny temp, climbs/descends sucks.
Have you actually pulled a ZF-6 tranny by yourself? THEY AIN'T LIGHT!!
You can get rid of the aching left leg with an aftermarket clutch.
prefer the increased driver control of the manual tranny.
That's it right there for me. My 2000 had the auto and I hated it. On the other hand, if I was sitting in traffic all day.....I'd hate the manual.
Every time I get into my Toyota it feels like the clutch is broken. And every time I drive the Odyssey, I'm trying to clutch the brake pedal.
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2001 F-350 Crew Cab XLT PSD 4x4, Long Bed, 6-speed, 3.73, Manual Transfer, Power TTT Mirrors, 122k miles.
1989 Toyota 4x4 xtracab SR5 V6, Beat to heck with 200k+ miles and still running strong.
I have my 1997 I bought new with the auto and have hated it for 12 straight years every single day just because of that one fatal flaw. Before that I had a 1989 F250 diesel with the manual and I loved that truck, but the dealer repainted part of it from freight damage when it was new and it looked like junk from that repaint after it was weathered a few years. I bought a new Jeep with the manual and drive it now and the stupid truck can sit there. Biggest mistake I ever made other than stock market investments.
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1997 F350CC, 4x4, PSD Tipper pro kleenex open filter. Roggen 6" lift kit with 26" ratflex 12" offset tires. Downpipe cut and welded to adapt 3" into a 12" outlet. 12" muffler cut and adapted to 2", then a special turbo manifold from a volkswagon modified to flank out to 3" to the tail pipe. Interior from a Corvair modified by cutting 6" off the padding. Snize and snide 32gallon aux tank mounted in rear seat, rear seat relocated to bed. Bed shortened to 4ft.
isn't it easier to pull a heavy trailer out of snow, sand, mud, or pull a tree stump out, ... with an auto ?
I know anything can eventually be done with any tranny - manual or auto,
but I have seen guys with a handshaker having problems pulling a 14,000+ pound trailer out of deep sand.
Not me, and I am loving my JohnWood tranny.
I like my manual, but the original poster is right, it does not shift like my old bmw 325is. That is much more fun to drive. But what I like about the stick is that it is always in the gear that I want. I had an 88 with a c6 and that would often start out in the wrong gear. But, if you want to go fast, you need the auto.
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2002 F-250, PSD 6-speed, CC, short bed, 4X4, Toreador Red w/ Silver accent, A.R.E mx cap, Weld Super Single II and 33s in the summer, x-springs, F-350 blocks and badges, AIC, proflaps, ITP intank mod, AirDog with 3 micron filter, isspro guages and TTM, scangauge, husky liners, alarm, xm stereo,stull 5399-p grille, centramatics, ccv mod, AIS Air Filter, Southbend CON O, Detroit Truetrac LSD, coolant filter, 203 stat with billet housing, blackcloud intake heater plug/boost fitting, reese titan hitch, fabcraft PTO cover/temp sender port, prodigy brake controller, ITP Boost Annihalator, oilguard bypass filter, Mag-Hytec rear dif, bilsteins, hellwig rear stabilizer bar, ATS housing, non-ebpv pedistal and exhaust flange, magnaflow 3.5dp exhaust, ITP reg return, turbomaster wastegate controller, and ceramic coated bellowed up pipes, PHP 50t and 80p, currently 96,100 miles. truck Pictures
I just want to say that, again theres pros and cons to both. I like them both in their own ways, but as a personal opinion I prefer auto. Further note, I have pulled and installed auto tranny 3 times, and manny once. I do have a southbend clutch, and yes it is a lot softer, but still, my aching, arthritis, left leg.
02 F350 PSD CREW LB WITH TRAINING WHEELS-AUTOMATTY-dual 80k transcooler, trans filter, coolant filter, amsoil oil filter sys., air dog filter sys., afe stg. 2 intake filter, HPX crossover, 4" mbrp exhaust, 6.0 intercooler, Garrett GT38R BB, EBV delete, dual optima, ohcrap gauges, no potatoe Chip yet.
210,000 miles on original engine and trans and many more to come.--TOTALED BY ELK
03 F350 PSD CREW LB WITH TRAINING WHEELS-MANNY TRANNY- Con-O clutch, Transcooler, Kevlar BrakeLines, CryoRotors F&R, ss Vacuum lines, 2.5 lift, RearSus Airbags w/remote, Garrett GT38R BB, 6.0 Intercooler, HPX crossover, dual optimas, AFE S2, ss MBRP 4", EBV delete, AIH delete, AirDog FS, ITP Reg.Fuel.Ret., Coolant Filter, A whole mess of gauges, and no chip (yet).
Tell ya what, go plow snow for 8 hours in a manual tranny F550, then 8 hours in my automatic F550. Then tell me about how bad automatics suck. I used to insist on manuals, but now I wouldn't take the gift of one in my work truck.
Off road fun truck, sure, gimme a manual.
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2000 F-550 XLT, 4x4, 10' dump, PSD auto, 9' plow.
FROM: Effingham N.H. Live free or die!
That would be for damn sure. I used to plow. I would not even THINK of plowing with a zf 6. I am not talking about your own driveway, I am talking about plowing for 8-12hrs. It would be terrible in my truck.
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2002 F-250, PSD 6-speed, CC, short bed, 4X4, Toreador Red w/ Silver accent, A.R.E mx cap, Weld Super Single II and 33s in the summer, x-springs, F-350 blocks and badges, AIC, proflaps, ITP intank mod, AirDog with 3 micron filter, isspro guages and TTM, scangauge, husky liners, alarm, xm stereo,stull 5399-p grille, centramatics, ccv mod, AIS Air Filter, Southbend CON O, Detroit Truetrac LSD, coolant filter, 203 stat with billet housing, blackcloud intake heater plug/boost fitting, reese titan hitch, fabcraft PTO cover/temp sender port, prodigy brake controller, ITP Boost Annihalator, oilguard bypass filter, Mag-Hytec rear dif, bilsteins, hellwig rear stabilizer bar, ATS housing, non-ebpv pedistal and exhaust flange, magnaflow 3.5dp exhaust, ITP reg return, turbomaster wastegate controller, and ceramic coated bellowed up pipes, PHP 50t and 80p, currently 96,100 miles. truck Pictures
I prefer having a BTS auto tranny, a stick is ok, but the auto sure is sweet for my towing application. I "shucked" enough gears in big trucks for years, so I have had my share. My first PSD was a manual, and it was ok, but a BTS 4R100 with a 6.0 tranny cooler is the ticket.
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Sold 02 F350 Lariat CrewCab Toreador Red/ Silver DRW LB AT 4X4 4.10 gears, BTS custom chip, and tranny. built BTS and Ford Tough! 859,532 miles
SOLD: 02 F350 Lariat CC Toreador Red, DRW AT 4.10 gears, BTS custom chip, and Tranny 214,550 miles,Built BTS, and Ford Tough!
Sold 94 F350 XLT SC DI DRW 5Speed 314,000
Lifetime Member "BTS BUBBA" Association
"Ain't no feelin like BTS mobilin"
SLAPS Member
Sold 62 Corvair 95 Bus
92 Buick deuce and a quarter
03 Ford Windstar- Granny Hauler
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), AIS, 
And every time I drive the Odyssey, I'm trying to clutch the brake pedal.
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